Judge orders acquittal of ex-prosecutor on 1 of 2 counts in misconduct trial over Ahmaud Arbery case
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A judge on Monday ordered the acquittal of a former Georgia prosecutor on one of the two misconduct charges against her, ruling that prosecutors at her trial failed to present any evidence the she obstructed a police investigation of the 2020 killing of Ahmaud .Arbery.
The trial of former District Attorney Jackie Johnson was to continue Tuesday. She still faces a felony charge of violating her oath of office.
Soon after prosecutors rested their case Monday, the judge took the rare step of granting a directed verdict on the misdemeanor obstruction charge against Johnson. The ruling means the judge found the case against Johnson on that single charge was too weak for any reasonable jury to convict her.
“There is not one scintilla of evidence that I’ve heard that would authorize a verdict on that count,” Senior Judge John R. Turner said from the bench.
Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves with guns and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after spotting the 25-year-old Black man running in their Georgia neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun.
The men told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar and argued that he was shot in self-defense. No one was arrested for more than two months, until cellphone video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police.
All three men were later convicted of murder and federal hate crimes.
Since Johnson's trial opened a week ago, prosecutors have tried to build a case that she worked behind the scenes to protect Travis McMichael and his father, a retired investigator from Johnson's office, even after the district attorney had recused her office from the case.
Prosecutors suffered a setback last week when Glynn County Assistant Police Chief Stephanie Oliver testified that she and Johnson have never spoken about Arbery's case. Oliver was one of two officers named in the 2021 indictment charging Johnson with obstruction by “directing that Travis McMichael should not be placed under arrest.”
Prosecutors rested their case Monday without calling Stephan Lowrey, the second officer named in the indictment, to testify.
Johnson's defense attorneys also asked the judge for a directed verdict on the charge that Johnson violated her oath of office, a felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
Turner told attorneys he was letting the oath violation charge stand “for the moment.” He asked both sides to submit written briefs with additional legal arguments.
Johnson recused her office from handling Arbery's shooting because Greg McMichael had worked for her. Prosecutors argue Johnson abused her power by recommending the attorney general appoint a neighboring district attorney, George Barnhill, to oversee the case without disclosing that Barnhill had already advised police that the shooting was justified.
Barnhill testified Friday that he had advised police independently with no input from Johnson.
The judge ordered the jury to return to the courthouse Tuesday morning.
Johnson was voted out of office in November 2020 and largely blamed her defeat on controversy over Arbery’s killing months earlier. A grand jury indicted her in September 2021.
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
